Dr Yue Xu’s Research Reveals Employee Voice in Times of Crisis

Recently, a paper titled " Voice for Ourselves or Myself in Times of Crisis: When and How Crisis-Related Uncertainty Motivates Employee Voices," co-authored by Dr Yue Xu, an associate professor in the Department of Strategic Management and Organizations (SMO) at the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), has been published in the prestigious Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. This research makes a significant contribution to understanding how employees respond to organizational crises through proactive voice behaviors.

In an era of rapid changes, crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or economic downturns pose profound challenges to both employers and employees. Crisis-induced uncertainty represents one of the most daunting aspects, and scholars have long revealed employees’ negative or passive reactions, such as anxiety and withdrawal. Dr Xu sharply discerns the unbalanced picture in the literature and shifts to address the critical question: How and when do employees proactively respond to crisis induced-uncertainty?

Dr Xu highlights that even in times of crisis, employees demonstrate personal agency to navigate uncertainty and seek improvement. One notable form of employee proactivity under crisis is voice—expressing ideas, suggestions, and concerns with the aim of changing the status quo. Interestingly, employees may voice concerns on behalf of different parties—either for the collective good or for their own benefit.

Deciding whom to speak up for is not always straightforward. When uncertainty is woven into the organizational life, especially during crises, employees encounter a social dilemma in their relationship with the organization. They can improve organizational status quo, secure personal social standing, and enhance personal capacities by investing resources in the organization, but this may also expose them to exploitation or rejection. Dr Xu notes that employees will actively seek additional situational cues to guide their voice reactions.

Drawing upon fairness heuristic theory, Dr Xu’s research identifies organizational justice as a pivotal cue that determines the nature of voice—whether prosocial or self-serving—in response to crisis-induced uncertainty. When being treated fairly, employees feel secure in their social standing and enter a “group mode,” which results in more prosocial voice under crisis-induced uncertainty to contribute to the collective fate. Conversely, when being treated unfairly, employees experience anxiety about being exploited or excluded and shift to an “individual mode,” leading to defensive self-interested voice under crisis-induced uncertainty to seize personal security.

As crises and the associated uncertainties are inevitable, preparation and proactive management are paramount. Dr Xu’s findings spotlight valuable strategies for crisis management. Rather than viewing employees as passive recipients of crisis, employers should recognize and mobilize employees’ proactive tendencies, leveraging bottom-up forces to navigate crises. Specifically, since prosocial voice holds more value for organizational functioning, fostering and maintaining a justice-oriented environment is critical in times of crisis.

Dr Xu offers clear guidance on how to cultivate a just organizational environment. In addition to reinforcing leadership training programs targeted at various aspects of procedural and interactional justice, employers could increase transparency in organizational decisions related to employee benefits. Further, they could enhance employee involvement and participation through practices such as grievance processes, quality circles, and one-to-one meeting.

Dr Yue Xu, an associate professor in the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at SMO, IBSS, XJTLU, has a rich and diverse research repertoire. Her intellectual pursuits span a broad spectrum, including Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), leadership, entrepreneurship, and behavioral decision-making. With a string of high-quality publications adorning the pages of influential journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, and Journal of Vocational Behavior, this latest accomplishment further solidifies her status as a luminary in the field.

Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology is an international journal dedicated to advancing our understanding of people and organizations at work. It publishes cutting-edge research on a wide range of topics, including contemporary industrial, organizational, work, vocational, and personnel psychology, industrial relations, ergonomics and human factors, and industrial sociology. The journal particularly highlights innovative and interdisciplinary work with a psychological emphasis. It is an ABS 4 journal with an impact factor of 4.9.